DIY bubbler pool

[Julsie]

So i tossed the small plastic hermit crab bowls out that i got from the pet store and created a bubbler pool with two plastic containers. One salt one fresh both have rocks in them and a ramp to crawl in and out. Just out of curiosity when do they use them? Will I end up having to upgrade to the next level with cycled water/test strips/ammonia? I don’t really understand that upgrade entirely. What I’m wondering is will my crabs use these bubbler pools and is it okay to just use the bubbler DIY creation? The pools have been in there for about a week i’d say and I haven’t changed the water and I still have yet to see a crab use it.


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[aussieJJDude]

They likely to use them at night when your asleep. If you decide to upgrade to cycled pools, its your choice. Your not required to.

I'm writing up a guide to cycled pools, and its in rough shape. But once its finalised, hopefully it may shed some light and make a little more sense to you. Its not very hard IMO once you understand basics.

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[Links]

Can’t wait for this guide. I had fish for years and understand the cycle and maintaining the cycle. And how to avoid killing the bacteria which would crash the cycle. But Without fish or something producing waste in the water I wonder if I need to be putting tiny bit of food. But I don’t know how much or how often. I figured if the crabs frequent them then adding food for the bacteria may not be necessary.

Again can’t wait AussieJJDude. Thanks for all you and others do here.

Edit: I'm sure JJ will cover everything but something I think is good to know is that conditions in smaller containers of water experience faster changes compares to bigger tanks. Hence it being easier to manage larger tanks. And each time something is added, a mini cycle occurs, which never has been a concern for me but an interesting fact. Also , something ive been doing with crabs that I didn't do with fish is use distilled water to replace evaporated water. I'd prefer using RO unit (cheaper in the long run but something extra to maintain). In freshwater fish keeping I'd just top off evaporated water with dechloronated tap water. But i think that will increase GH and other things overtime if nothing (like plants) are pulling out the GH.


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[Overmountain1]

Your crabs will readily add poo in no time! I swear a couple of mine think it’s their personal toilet!

@aussieJJDude I can’t wait for the guide either! I’m about to set up my large tank and was debating. I think it’s worth it and I’m sure your guide will be a huge help for consolidating lots of info. Thanks for taking the time to do so!


Dave the Wondercrab~Pat~Maggie~ Billy~Pop~Corn~Ten~Sam~MissTeri~Tim~Gene~ Barry~Mr S~Princess + 5 Es + Mr EnDoh =my crabby clan!

[Motörcrab]

I love the cycled pools in our 75 gallon. They seem like a lot at first with all of the water level mumbo jumbo. Once you get the basic understanding of how the water cycles and whats good and bad they don't require the every other day changes. I check my pools with strips about once a week, top off the water as required and do a full water change in each once a month. The hardest part is the initial set up and keeping an eye on the ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite levels safe until the tank cycles. That can take a few weeks or months to achieve. I believe mine took around three weeks or so.

Before the cycled pools we had bubblers in small containers. Just be sure to keep an eye on the water levels and your substrate. Last year the overspray from the bubblers caused a flood and bacterial bloom in the 75, and 30 gallon. We had to completely tear them apart and redo both tanks back to back. We unfortunately lost two crabs in the process.